PHILADELPHIA, October 10, 2017

This winter adventurous visitors to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University can get face-to-snout with live crocodilians in the new exhibit Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World opening Saturday, Feb. 3.

A month later visitors will be able to look behind the diorama glass, literally, and observe two classic dioramas get a makeover. The Takin and Gorilla dioramas will undergo a thorough cleaning and renovation for the first time since they were installed decades ago. Visitors will be able to peer through a window at the temporary workspace as the renovations unfold beginning around early March.

Paleopalooza, the annual festival that celebrates dinosaurs and other amazing fossils, will take place March 3 and 4. Visitors will enjoy pay-what-you-wish admission on Founders Day, March 21, as the Academy marks the day in 1812 that it was officially founded.

Winter features more fun weekends. Below is the schedule. For details, updates and discounted tickets online, visit ansp.org.

New Year’s Day

Monday, January 1

The museum is closed for the holiday.

Dinosaur Days

Closing Weekend of Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies

Saturday-Monday, January 13–15, All Day

Take a rare and exciting look at dinosaurs through their eggs, nests and embryos. This is the final weekend of the exhibit Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies and it’s filled with fun activities. Enjoy live reptile and bird shows and close encounters, make dinosaur crafts, touch real dinosaur egg fragments, and more.

Night in the Museum: Dinos After Dark

Saturday, January 13

Experience the Academy of Natural Sciences’ dinosaurs after dark at this activity-filled sleepover. Go on an ancient adventure; take a flashlight tour of the special exhibit Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies; show off your paleo-skills during hands-on games and activities; and make a “jacket” for a fossil to take home. Then roll out a sleeping bag under T. rex and have sweet dreams. Ages 6 and up; one adult is required per three children. Members $60, non-members $65, VIP (Very Important Paleontologist) $89. Details visit ansp.org or call 215-299-1060.

Special Exhibits Gallery

Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World

Saturday, February 3–Sunday, May 6

Come face-to-snout with live crocodilians, a group of reptiles that has evolved and thrived for 200 million years thanks to their brute strength, keen senses, and murderous instincts. Today’s crocs range from diminutive forest dwellers to monstrous creatures that eat wildebeests, buffaloes, and occasionally people. Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World features numerous live species, including a Siamese crocodile and Albino American alligator. Visitors can learn to speak croc in under five minutes, test their strength against a croc’s bite, view skulls, make water dance, and create a 3-D animation of a long-extinct croc. Get the facts on croc attacks and understand how humans and crocs can peacefully coexist.

Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World Opening Weekend

Saturday and Sunday, February 3–4, All Day

Enjoy special keeper talks and naturalist shows for the opening weekend of the new exhibit Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World. Crocs gets visitors face-to-snout with live crocodilians, a group of reptiles that has evolved and thrived for 200 million years thanks to their brute strength, keen senses, and murderous instincts. Visitors can learn to speak croc in under five minutes, test their strength against a croc’s bite, view skulls, make water dance, and create a 3-D animation of a long-extinct croc.

Access to Science: Opening Doors to Autism

Saturday, February 3, 9–11 a.m.

Children on the autism spectrum and their families are invited to experience the museum when there are fewer people, starting an hour before the regular opening. Museum Stories (images and descriptions of the exhibits) can be downloaded before the visit at http://www.ansp.org/visit/plan/accessibility. Preregistration is required; contact Visitor Services at 215-299-1060 or ANS_reservations@drexel.edu. Same-day registration is available onsite.

Night in the Museum: Crocs After Dark

Saturday, February 10

Experience the Academy of Natural Sciences’ dinosaurs after dark at this activity-filled sleepover. Go on an ancient adventure; take a flashlight tour of the special exhibit Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World and see what the live creatures are up to after the sun goes down. Sshow off your paleo-skills during hands-on games and activities; and make a “jacket” for a fossil to take home. Then roll out a sleeping bag under T. rex and have sweet dreams. Ages 6 and up; one adult is required per three children. Members $60, non-members $65, VIP (Very Important Paleontologist) $89. Details visit ansp.org or call 215-299-1060.

Carnivore Capades Featuring Crocs

Friday-Monday, February 17-19, All Day

Explore the fascinating world of crocs—prehistoric and modern—with this weekend full of fun and enlightening hands-on activities. Enjoy live animal shows, make crafts to take home, get close to live animals and specimens from the Academy’s collection. The theme of this Carnivore Capades is crocs and celebrates the recent opening of the exhibit Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World.

Diorama Renovations

March–April, Dates TBD

Two of the Academy’s classic dioramas are getting a makeover, and visitors can watch. Conservators and other experts will clean and renovate every inch of the beautiful Takin and Gorilla dioramas for the first time since they were installed decades ago. Visitors will be able to peer through a viewing window into the temporary workspace as the renovations progresses. It will be a unique opportunity to see what the dioramas look like without glass.

Paleopalooza

Saturday and Sunday, March 3–4, All day

Celebrate dinosaurs and other fossils at this fun annual festival of gigantic proportions. Explore the world of dinosaurs as you examine rare fossils up close that were pulled from the Academy’s world-famous collection just for this festival. Talk with Academy paleontologists, meet live birds, take guided tours of Dinosaur Hall, and enjoy games, crafts and other activities that are guaranteed to enlighten even the wisest (and youngest) dinosaur experts in the family.

Night in the Museum: Crocs After Dark

Saturday, March 17

Experience the Academy of Natural Sciences’ dinosaurs after dark at this activity-filled sleepover. Go on an ancient adventure; take a flashlight tour of the special exhibit Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World and see what the live creatures are up to after the sun goes down. Sshow off your paleo-skills during hands-on games and activities; and make a “jacket” for a fossil to take home. Then roll out a sleeping bag under T. rex and have sweet dreams. Ages 6 and up; one adult is required per three children. Members $60, non-members $65, VIP (Very Important Paleontologist) $89. Details visit ansp.org or call 215-299-1060.

Founders Day

Wednesday, March 21

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is offering pay-what-you-wish general admission to celebrate the founding of the oldest natural history museum in the Americas. The Academy officially was founded March 21, 1812 for “the encouragement and cultivation of the sciences and the advancement of useful learning.” Today the Academy is a leading natural history museum and the place to discover towering dinosaurs, experience a working fossil preparation lab, stroll among live butterflies, see live animal shows, participate in hands-on activities, see special exhibits, and more. An $8 Supersaver ticket gains admission to the Butterflies and the special exhibit, Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World.

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